Burnt oil, dyeing chemicals dumped into Buriganga

Helemul Alam

A boat carrying used lubricants of motor launches dump the toxic waste straight into the Buriganga with little regard for the environment and the lifeline of Dhaka. The photo was taken at the Sadarghat in the capital. Photo: Shawkat Jamil

Apart from untreated industrial and household wastes, burnt motor oil, lubricant and dyeing chemicals are also contributing greatly to the pollution of the already moribund river Buriganga.

Motor oil traders collect burnt oil from launch operators and refine only to sell those back to them. In the process of refining the muddy and pitch-black remnants are mindlessly dumped into the river.

Manual dyers who dye mainly cloth of garment factories, especially jeans, are also no less responsible for river pollution. After dyeing they also rampantly throw their leftover toxic chemical into river water.

Around 15 motor oil traders are engaged in refining burnt oil of launches while about 10 floating businessmen are involved in dyeing cloth on the riverbank, traders on the Buriganga riverbank said.

“Launch operators sell the burnt oil every two to three months. By the time each launch has around 20 litres of burnt oil,” said Hafizur Rahman, driver of Sharnadip launch of Dhaka-Shariatpur route.

“The remains after the refinement of used oil is dumped into the river,” said Dulal who once worked with a motor oil refiner.

During a visit to the riverbank at Telghat in Keraniganj on June 26 this correspondent saw a thick layer of black oil, which did not appear to be water at all.

Shafiq, working for the last 15 years with a businessman, said around 15 burnt oil refiners are involved in the business on the bank of Buriganga.

Not only that, engine boats also release burnt oil into the river thus contributing to the pollution, said Abu Naser Khan, Chairman of Save Environment Movement.

Khan said burnt oil from the motorised vehicles is thrown into the drains, which ultimately mingles with the river water around the capital. “Burnt oil is highly toxic,” he added.

Professor Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said any kind of oil pollutes water and increases the level of pollution, which affects the eco-system of the water body.

“No life in the Buriganga is alive because of endless pollution,” he said.

During a visit to Buriganga this correspondent found that the water at several spots had turned into pitch-black colour due to reckless dumping of leftover chemicals used for dyeing cloth.

Dyers were found busy with dyeing jeans and other cloth at those places.

Shawkat, busy with dyeing cloth in Ispahani area of Keraniganj, was found emptying a drum of dyes. He said he had been doing the business for the last 25 years.

"We dye mainly the cloth of garment factories, especially jeans. We can dye around 500 pieces of cloth a day," he said.

According to him, more than 10 businessmen are involved in dyeing cloth at different points including Char Bhairab, Telghat and Muhuri Pottri on the riverbank.

Khalil, another dyer engaged in the business for the last eight years, said, “We have to heat the chemical in a drum before we soak jeans into them that turns the area into a smoky and dirty place.”

Of over 300 effluent discharge outlets at Tongi, Hazaribagh, Tejgaon, Tarabo, Narayanganj, Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur and Ghorashal, 19 carry the major discharge of domestic and industrial wastes, according to a joint study of the World Bank and Institute of Water Modelling (IWM).

Of the discharged untreated liquid waste, 61 percent are industrial and 39 percent domestic, the study says.

These outlets are the major polluters of the rivers but burnt oil or dyeing chemicals, though dumped by a small number of traders, can in no way be neglected, because these are dumped on regular basis, said Abu Naser Khan.

The Daily Star, 3 july 2009. News Link